JP2018005458A - Whereabouts confirmation system and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm user's whereabouts with a small communication load.SOLUTION: Image formation apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n connected by a network 20 detect portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m that a plurality of users bear respectively through short-range radio communication. A whereabouts information gathering unit 16 acquires and stores identification information from the portable terminals 2-1 to -2-m detected through the short-range radio communication in an identification information storage unit 17. A whereabouts inquiry unit 191 once receiving retrieval of a retrieved user inquires of other image formation apparatuses whereabouts of the retrieved user, and reports whereabouts information on the retrieved user based upon answers from other image formation apparatuses. A whereabouts answer unit 18 answers via the network 20 when storing the identification information on the retrieved user inquired from other image formation apparatuses, but does not answer when not.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a location confirmation system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected via a network and an image forming apparatus.

  If the company is divided into multiple floors or divided into multiple rooms, employees may move around the company for meetings or smoking, making it difficult to know where to go. Therefore, techniques for confirming the location of employees have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, a wireless server is installed at an entrance / exit gate, an entrance / exit of a conference room, and the like, and is connected to the main server via a LAN. The main server collects terminal-specific information of mobile terminals owned by employees from employees close to the wireless server via the wireless server, and centrally manages the location information of the employees. In the technique of Patent Document 2, an entrance / exit management device (server) that manages the entrance / exit status collects the occupant identification information from an authentication device that authenticates the identity of the occupant.

  Further, if the detection information is transmitted to the server every time a user is detected, the amount of traffic increases. Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which sensor information is sent from the controller to the host computer (server) only when it is detected that the visitor has moved based on the sensor information sent from the sensor that detects the visitor. (For example, see Patent Document 3). According to this, since the frequency with which the sensor information regarding each visitor is transmitted to the host computer can be reduced, the communication traffic amount of the host computer can be reduced.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-219453 JP 2007-310605 JP Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 06-215003

  However, the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3 have a problem that the communication load on the server is large because the location information of all users is collected on the server.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of confirming the location of a user with a small communication load.

The location confirmation system of the present invention is a location confirmation system including a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected via a network, and each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses includes a mobile terminal possessed by a plurality of users. A short-range wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication, and a location information collection unit that detects the mobile terminal via the short-range wireless communication unit and acquires identification information that identifies the user from the detected mobile terminal And an identification information storage unit that stores the identification information acquired by the location information collection unit, and when a search for a search target user is accepted, the location of the search target user is transferred to another image forming apparatus via the network. A location inquiry unit for notifying the location information of the user to be searched based on an inquiry and a response from the other image forming apparatus; When the identification information of the user to be searched inquired from another image forming apparatus via a network is stored in the identification information storage unit, the identification information inquired is responded via the network. A location response unit that does not respond when it is not stored in the identification information storage unit, and the image forming apparatus that has received a search for the search target user sends the location inquiry unit to the other image forming apparatus by the location inquiry unit. It is characterized by inquiring about the location of the searched user.
In addition, the identification information storage unit stores a detection time in association with the identification information of the mobile terminal detected by the location information collection unit, and the location inquiry unit stores the identification information of the other image forming apparatus. When there are a plurality of responses, the location information of the search target user may be notified based on the response from the other image forming apparatus that has responded the latest detection time.
In addition, when there is the response, the location inquiry unit notifies the location information that the search target user is near the image forming apparatus that has made the response, and the response is the other image. If there is no one of the forming apparatuses, the fact that there is no user to be searched may be notified as the location information.
Moreover, the said location response part may respond with the said latest detection time when the said identification information of the said to-be-searched user inquired is stored in multiple numbers in the said identification information storage part.
In addition, the location inquiry unit inquires the location of the searched user by multicast to the other image forming apparatus when the search speed priority is set, and the communication load reduction priority is set. In this case, the location of the searched user may be inquired to the other image forming apparatus by unicast.
Further, when the location inquiry unit accepts the search for the searched user, the location inquiry unit collates whether or not the identification information of the searched user is stored in the identification information storage unit of the own device and is stored. In the case where the detection time of the stored identification information of the searched user is within a predetermined time from the current time, without inquiring about the location of the searched user to the other image forming apparatus, The location information of the search target user may be notified based on the detection time stored in the own device.
Further, the location inquiry unit is configured to detect the identification time of the searched user when the identification information of the searched user is not stored in the identification information storage unit of the own device or even if stored. May not be within a predetermined time from the current time, the location of the user to be searched may be inquired to the other image forming apparatus.
In addition, the identification information stored in the identification information storage unit may be automatically deleted after a predetermined period.
Further, the short-range wireless communication unit, the location information collection unit, and the location response unit may be operable when the device is in a normal mode or an energy saving mode.
An image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus connected to a plurality of other image forming apparatuses via a network, and the image forming apparatus communicates with a mobile terminal possessed by each of a plurality of users and short-range wireless communication A short-range wireless communication unit that performs detection, a location information collection unit that detects the mobile terminal via the short-range wireless communication unit, acquires identification information that identifies the user from the detected mobile terminal, and the location An identification information storage unit that stores the identification information acquired by the information collection unit, and upon receiving a search for the user to be searched, inquires about the location of the user to be searched to the other image forming apparatus via the network; A location inquiry unit for notifying location information of the user to be searched based on a response from the image forming apparatus, and another image type via the network. When the identification information of the searched user inquired from the device is stored in the identification information storage unit, the identification information inquired is stored in the identification information storage unit in response to the response via the network. A location response unit that does not respond when there is not, and the image forming apparatus that has received the search for the searched user makes an inquiry about the location of the searched user to the other image forming apparatus by the location inquiry unit. Features.

  According to the present invention, the location of a user can be confirmed with a small communication load.

It is a system configuration figure of a location check system of an embodiment concerning the present invention. It is a memory content example of the identification information memory | storage part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the location information collection part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the location inquiry part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the location response part shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to configurations showing similar functions.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the location confirmation system 100 of the present embodiment is connected to image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n (n is a natural number) via a network 20. The image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n are configured to be capable of short-range wireless communication with portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m (m is a natural number) possessed by a plurality of users. In the following description, when any one of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n and the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m is indicated, the description will be made as the image forming apparatus 1 and the portable terminal 2, respectively.

  The image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n are apparatuses having an image forming function such as a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral. The main configurations of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n are common, and the main configuration of the image forming apparatus 1-1 will be described as a representative. In FIG. 1, only the main configuration of the image forming apparatus 1-1 is shown, and illustrations of a document reading function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, and the like are omitted.

  The image forming apparatus 1-1 includes an operation unit 10, a storage unit 11, an image processing unit 12, a printing unit 13, a communication unit 14, a short-range wireless communication unit 15, a location information collection unit 16, and an identification. An information storage unit 17, a location response unit 18, and a control unit 19 are provided.

  The operation unit 10 includes a display unit provided with a transparent pressure sensor on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, a touch panel that functions as an input unit, a numeric keypad for inputting numerical values such as the number of prints, and an instruction to initialize setting information. Various operation keys such as a reset key for inputting, a stop key for stopping the copying operation and erasing the input numerical value, and a start key for inputting an output instruction for starting the printing operation are provided. It is a user interface.

  The storage unit 11 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and is a storage unit in which image data received by the communication unit 14 is accumulated.

  The image processing unit 12 is means for performing predetermined image processing on the image data. In the image processing unit 12, for example, image improvement processing such as enlargement / reduction processing, density adjustment, and gradation adjustment is performed.

  The printing unit 13 is a printing unit that prints the image data stored in the storage unit 11 as a document image. For example, the printing unit 13 forms a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum based on the image data read from the storage unit 11, performs image formation using the latent image as a toner image with toner, and records from the photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred onto the paper, and the toner image is fixed onto the recording paper and discharged.

  The communication unit 14 has a function of performing device-to-device communication with other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n via a network 20 such as a LAN, and transmitting and receiving various data. The communication unit 14 has a function of transmitting and receiving image data from an external terminal such as a personal computer via the network 20.

  The near field communication unit 15 has a function of performing near field communication using Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), or the like. The short-range wireless communication range of the short-range wireless communication unit 15 is set to about several meters.

  The location information collecting unit 16 has a function of detecting the mobile terminals 2-1 to 2-m via the short-range wireless communication unit 15 and acquiring identification information from the detected mobile terminals 2-1 to 2-m. . Specifically, the location information collection unit 16 acquires the identification information of the mobile terminal 2 of the user who passed near the own device. For example, the location information collection unit 16 monitors the electric field strength of short-range wireless communication with the surrounding mobile terminals 2-1 to 2-m in the short-range wireless communication range via the short-range wireless communication unit 15, When the strength of the electric field intensity is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value and less than the predetermined threshold value, it can be determined that the user has passed near the device. When the location information collection unit 16 acquires the identification information from the portable terminal 2 of the user who has passed near the device, the location information collection unit 16 stores the identification information together with the detection time in the identification information storage unit 17. The identification information acquired from the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m is identification information that identifies users who are the owners of the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m. m may be a terminal unique information or a contractor unique ID, or may be a user ID if the user ID of the holder is stored in advance in the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m. .

  The identification information storage unit 17 is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like, and as shown in FIG. 2, the identification information of the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m detected by the location information collection unit 16 as the location information. And the detection time are stored in association with each other. The location information stored in the identification information storage unit 17 is automatically deleted when a certain period of time such as half a day or one day has elapsed since the storage.

  The location response unit 18 compares the identification information inquired from the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n via the network 20 with the identification information stored in the identification information storage unit 17. The location response unit 18 responds via the network 20 only when the inquired identification information is stored in the identification information storage unit 17. The response of the location response unit 18 includes the latest detection time corresponding to the matched identification information and the apparatus identification information of the image forming apparatus 1-1 (self apparatus). If they do not match, the location response unit 18 does not respond at all. This is to reduce the amount of traffic. Note that the short-range wireless communication unit 15, the location information collection unit 16, and the location response unit 18 are operable not only when the image forming apparatus 1-1 is in the normal mode but also in the energy saving mode.

  The control unit 19 includes the operation unit 10, the storage unit 11, the image processing unit 12, the printing unit 13, the communication unit 14, the short-range wireless communication unit 15, the location information collection unit 16, the identification information storage unit 17, and the location response unit 18. Operation control of the entire image forming apparatus 1-1 is executed in accordance with predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 10. The control unit 19 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a control program for performing operation control of the image forming apparatus 1-1. The control unit 19 reads out a control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 10.

  Further, the control unit 19 functions as a location inquiry unit 191 that accepts a search for a search target user and inquires of the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n about the location of the search target user.

  The location inquiry unit 191 receives a search for a search target user in response to a search request from the search user, and sends the search target user identification information to other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n via the network 20. Inquire about the location of the searched user. When there is a response from the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n, the location inquiry unit 191 notifies the search user of the location information of the search target user based on the response. If there is no responding image forming apparatus 1-2 to 1-n, the location inquiry unit 191 notifies the search user that there is no user to be searched as location information.

  Communication between the location inquiry unit 191 and each of the location response units 18 of the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n is performed by inter-device communication via the network 20. In this case, the image forming apparatus 1-1 that makes an inquiry by the location inquiry unit 191 becomes a master apparatus, and the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n that receive the inquiry become slave apparatuses.

  Each of the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m is owned by an in-house user. Each of the portable terminals 2-1 to 2-m has a short-range wireless communication function, and an application for transmitting / receiving various data to / from the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n by short-range wireless communication is installed. It is the state that was done. In addition, identification information for specifying the possessed user is stored in each of the mobile terminals 2-1 to 2-m.

  Next, the flow of processing of the location information collection unit 16 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The location information collecting unit 16 always monitors whether the user has passed near the own device (No in step s31 and step s31). For example, the location information collection unit 16 monitors the electric field strength of short-range wireless communication with the surrounding mobile terminals 2-1 to 2-m via the short-range wireless communication unit 15, and the strength of the electric field strength is a predetermined threshold value. From the above, when it becomes less than the predetermined threshold value, it may be determined that the user has passed near the user apparatus.

  When the location information collection unit 16 detects that the user has passed near the device (Yes in step s31), the location information collection unit 16 obtains identification information from the portable terminal 2 possessed by the user via the short-range wireless communication unit 15. Acquired (step s32), the acquired identification information is stored in the identification information storage unit 17 together with the detection time (step s33), and the process returns to step s31.

  As a result, the location information collection unit 16 of each of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n installed in the company detects the users who have passed near the apparatus, and the mobile terminal 2 possessed by the detected user. The identification information and the detection time are respectively stored in the identification information storage units 17 of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n that have detected. In other words, in the present embodiment, the user location information is distributed and stored in each of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n, so that the communication load caused by collecting the location information of all users in one location is increased. It is configured not to occur. Further, since at least one image forming apparatus is usually installed in each room or floor in the company, the user's location is detected by causing the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n to detect the location of the user. It is not necessary to install a wireless device or the like for performing the operation.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the flow of processing of the location inquiry unit 191 when the image forming apparatus 1-1 receives a search request and functions as a master apparatus will be described.

  The location inquiry unit 191 stands by until a search request is accepted (No in step s40 and step s40). When a search user who performs a search operates the mobile terminal 2 to issue a search instruction, a search request is transmitted to the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n within the short-range wireless communication range of the mobile terminal 2, and the search request is received. Any one of the transmitted location inquiry units 191 of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n receives a search request via the short-range wireless communication unit 15.

  When receiving the search request (Yes in step s40), the location inquiry unit 191 establishes short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 2 that has transmitted the search request via the short-range wireless communication unit 15 (step s41). When the short-range wireless communication is established, the image forming apparatus 1-1 that has received the search request functions as a master apparatus (step s42), and the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n function as slave apparatuses. Become. When a plurality of image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n accept a search request, the image forming apparatus 1 that first established short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 2 that transmitted the search request becomes the master apparatus. .

  Next, the location inquiry unit 191 displays an input screen for accepting the search for the searched user on the mobile terminal 2 of the search user, and accepts the search for the searched user via the input screen (step s43). In the input screen, when the search user inputs information for identifying the searched user such as the name and user ID of the searched user, the identification information of the searched user is specified, and the search for the searched user can be accepted. ing.

  Subsequently, the location inquiry unit 191 searches for slave devices that can be inquired (step s44). The slave devices that can be inquired are the image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n that are connected to the network 20 and are turned on, and may be in either the normal mode or the energy saving mode.

  Subsequently, the location inquiry unit 191 transmits the searched user identification information to the searched slave device via the network 20 in order to inquire about the location of the searched user (step s45). The location inquiry unit 191 inquires the slave device about the location of the user to be searched by multicast when the search speed-oriented setting is set, and unicasts the slave device when the communication load reduction-oriented setting is set. Inquire about the location of the searched user. This makes it possible to operate in accordance with the usage environment.

  When there is a response from the slave device in response to the inquiry (Yes in step s46), the response includes the latest detection time and device identification information of the search target user in the responding slave device. Therefore, the location inquiry unit 191 notifies the searcher's mobile terminal 2 of the location information of the user to be searched as location information of the user to be searched based on the response as the location information of the user to be searched (step s47). For example, the location inquiry unit 191 notifies that “the user to be searched was near the image forming apparatus 1-2 25 seconds ago”. When the notification ends, this process ends. When there are responses from a plurality of slave devices, the location inquiry unit 191 searches the search target based on the responses from the slave devices that responded to the latest detection time of the user to be searched among the responses. What is necessary is just to notify a user's location information.

  If there is no response from one slave device even after a predetermined time has passed since the inquiry (No in step s46), the location inquiry unit 191 indicates that there is no searched user as location information of the searched user. The mobile terminal 2 of the search user is notified (step s48), and this process is terminated.

  In the above process, the location inquiry unit 191 has been described by omitting the process of verifying whether the identification information corresponding to the search target user is stored in the identification information storage unit 17 of the master device. Needless to say. In that case, the location inquiry unit 191 determines whether or not the identification information of the search target user is stored in the identification information storage unit 17 of the own device after the execution of the process of step s43 and before the execution of the process of step s44. Can be verified. If it is stored as a result of the collation, the location inquiry unit 191 stores the stored identification information in its own device when the detection time of the stored identification information is within a predetermined time (for example, within 10 minutes) from the current time. The location information of the searched user may be notified based on the detected time. In this case, the location inquiry unit 191 may end this process without inquiring about the location of the user to be searched from other image forming apparatuses (without executing the processing after step s44). On the other hand, as a result of the collation, if the identification information of the user to be searched is not stored in the identification information storage unit 17 of the own device or if the detection time has passed even though it is stored, the location inquiry unit In step S191, the processing after step s44 may be executed to inquire the location of the user to be searched from other image forming apparatuses.

  Further, the location information inquiry unit 191 may accept a search for a user to be searched via the operation unit 10. In this case, the search user operates the operation unit 10 of the desired image forming apparatus 1 without using the mobile terminal 2 to display an input screen for accepting the search for the search target user, and selects the search target user. What is necessary is just to input the information to identify and instruct | indicate the search of a to-be-searched user.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the flow of processing of the location response unit 18 when the image forming apparatus 1-1 functions as a slave device and responds to an inquiry from another master device will be described.

  The location response unit 18 stands by until an inquiry about the location of the searched user is received from the master device via the network 20 (No in step s51 and step s51). When there is an inquiry about the location of the search target user (Yes in step s51), the location response unit 18 collates the identification information of the search target user with the identification information stored in the identification information storage unit 17 (step s52). ).

  If they match as a result of the collation (Yes in step s53), the location response unit 18 responds to the master device via the network 20 together with the device identification information of the own device together with the latest detection time of the matching identification information (step s53). s54), the process is terminated. Therefore, even if a plurality of pieces of identification information of the search target user are stored in the identification information storage unit 17 of the slave device, the latest detection time is responded to the master device, so that the traffic volume is reduced. be able to.

  If they do not match as a result of the collation (No in step s53), the location response unit 18 ends this processing without responding anything. Therefore, the slave device that responds to the inquiry from the master device is only the slave device that stores the identification information corresponding to the user to be searched in the identification information storage unit 17, and the user to be searched in the identification information storage unit 17. Since there is no response from a slave device that does not store identification information corresponding to, the communication load on the master device can be reduced.

  As described above, the location confirmation system 100 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses (1-1 to 1-n) connected via the network 20, and includes a plurality of image forming apparatuses (1-1). 1-n) includes a short-range wireless communication unit 15 that performs short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminals 2 possessed by a plurality of users, and mobile terminals 2-1 to 2 through the short-range wireless communication unit 15. -M is detected, and the location information collection unit 16 that acquires the identification information that identifies the user from the detected mobile terminals 2-1 to 2-m, and the identification that stores the identification information acquired by the location information collection unit 16 When the information storage unit 17 and the search for the search target user are accepted, the location of the search target user is inquired to the other image forming apparatus via the network 20 and the location of the search target user is based on the response from the other image forming apparatus. If the identification information storage unit 17 stores the identification information of the searched user inquired from another image forming apparatus via the network 20 and the location inquiry unit 191 that notifies the information, the response is made via the network 20. The location inquiry unit 191 includes a location response unit 18 that does not respond when the inquired identification information is not stored in the identification information storage unit 17, and the location inquiry unit 191 receives the search for the searched user. It is characterized by inquiring the location of the user to be searched to the other image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n.

  As a result, the image forming apparatus 1-1 that has received the search for the user to be searched functions as a master apparatus, and the other inquired image forming apparatuses 1-2 to 1-n function as slave apparatuses. Can communicate with each other via the network 20. Therefore, since it is not necessary to control the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n by the main server or the like, it is not necessary to intervene the main server. In addition, since any of the image forming apparatuses 1-1 to 1-n can accept a search for a search target user and inquire about the location of the search target user to another image formation apparatus, one image forming apparatus 1 can be inquired. Concentration of search requests can be prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1-1 to 1-n Image forming apparatuses 2-1 to 2-m Mobile terminal 10 Operation unit 11 Storage unit 12 Image processing unit 13 Printing unit 14 Communication unit 15 Short-range wireless communication unit 16 Location information collection unit 17 Identification information storage Unit 18 Location response unit 19 Control unit 20 Network 100 Location confirmation system 191 Location inquiry unit

Claims (10)

A location confirmation system comprising a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected via a network,
Each of the plurality of image forming apparatuses includes:
A short-range wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication with mobile terminals possessed by a plurality of users,
A location information collection unit that detects the mobile terminal via the short-range wireless communication unit and acquires identification information that identifies the user from the detected mobile terminal;
An identification information storage unit that stores the identification information acquired by the location information collection unit;
When the search for the search target user is accepted, the location of the search target user is inquired to the other image forming apparatus via the network, and the location information of the search target user is obtained based on a response from the other image forming apparatus. A location inquiry section to notify,
When the identification information of the user to be searched inquired from another image forming apparatus via the network is stored in the identification information storage unit, the identification information inquired is responded via the network. A location response unit that does not respond when not stored in the identification information storage unit,
The location confirmation system that receives the search of the search target user inquires the location of the search target user to the other image forming device by the location inquiry unit. In the identification information storage unit, a detection time is stored in association with the identification information of the mobile terminal detected by the location information collection unit,
The location inquiry section
When there is a response from a plurality of the other image forming apparatuses, the location information of the searched user is notified based on the response from the other image forming apparatus that has responded with the latest detection time. The location confirmation system according to claim 1. The location inquiry section
When the response is received, the location information is notified that the search target user is near the image forming apparatus that has made the response, and the response is not received from one of the other image forming apparatuses. The location confirmation system according to claim 1, wherein the location information is notified that there is no user to be searched. The location response unit is:
4. The latest detection time is returned as a response when a plurality of the identification information of the queried user being queried is stored in the identification information storage unit. 5. Location confirmation system. The location inquiry section
When the search speed emphasis is set, the other image forming apparatus is inquired about the location of the search target user by multicast, and when the communication load reduction emphasis is set, the other image The location confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the location of the search target user is unicasted to the forming apparatus. The location inquiry section
Upon receiving the search for the search target user, it is checked whether or not the identification information of the search target user is stored in the identification information storage unit of the own device. When the detection time of the identification information of the search target user is within a predetermined time from the current time, the location of the search target user is not inquired to the other image forming apparatus, and is stored in the own apparatus. The location confirmation system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein location information of the search target user is notified based on a detection time. The location inquiry section
When the identification information of the searched user is not stored in the identification information storage unit of the own device, or even if stored, the detection time of the identification information of the searched user is within a predetermined time from the current time The location confirmation system according to claim 6, wherein if there is not, the location of the searched user is inquired to the other image forming apparatus. The location confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the identification information stored in the identification information storage unit is automatically deleted after a predetermined period of time. The short-range wireless communication unit, the location information collection unit, and the location response unit are:
The location confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the device is operable in either a normal mode or an energy saving mode. An image forming apparatus connected to a plurality of other image forming apparatuses via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes:
A short-range wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication with mobile terminals possessed by a plurality of users,
A location information collection unit that detects the mobile terminal via the short-range wireless communication unit and acquires identification information that identifies the user from the detected mobile terminal;
An identification information storage unit that stores the identification information acquired by the location information collection unit;
When the search for the search target user is accepted, the location of the search target user is inquired to the other image forming apparatus via the network, and the location information of the search target user is obtained based on a response from the other image forming apparatus. A location inquiry section to notify,
When the identification information of the user to be searched inquired from another image forming apparatus via the network is stored in the identification information storage unit, the identification information inquired is responded via the network. A location response unit that does not respond when not stored in the identification information storage unit,
The image forming apparatus that has received the search for the search target user inquires the location of the search target user to the other image forming apparatus by the location inquiry unit.

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